UFC 268 – Ian Garry stops Jordan Williams with massive first round KO in UFC debut

Portmarnock native, Ian ‘The Future’ Garry maintains his undefeated professional record following his UFC debut tonight at Madison Square Garden in New York at UFC 268 — stopping Jordan Williams with a buzzer-beating first round knockout victory.

Garry, 23, now under the tutelage of Sanford MMA leader, Henri Hooft in Deerfield Beach, Florida stepped into the Octagon for the first time tonight, following a perfect run under the Graham Boylan-led Cage Warriors banner where he clinched the vacant welterweight title earlier this year.

Taking his UFC bow in the featured early preliminary section of the UFC 268 card in the Big Apple — Garry found himself under the kosh early in the first round, as Factory X trainee and Marc Montoya student, Williams found his way into striking range on cue — landing stinging straight hands as Garry looked to progress.

Tying up in the clinch, Garry, who was dealing with some notable redness around his nose as a result of the brisk striking from the underdog Williams, was attempting to find his home for both right and left high kicks — going close with an attempt of the latter.

Sliding out of range before the close of the opening round, Garry stepped back and uncorked a massive counter straight right hand — clobbering the progressing Williams, forcing a wobble and stumble before he eventually met the Octagon canvas with just a single second remaining in the first frame.

Now sitting at 8-0 as a professional, Garry paid homage to former two-weight UFC champion, and fellow Dubliner, ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor in his post-fight interview with UFC color commentator, Joe Rogan — claiming that the Irish takeover which came in tandem with McGregor’s promotional debut back in 2013 has seen the introduction of a sequel tonight in New York. 

Ross Markey

Senior writer for FightBook MMA. An aspiring mixed martial arts reporter based in Ireland. Producer of news articles, interviews, opinion features, and exclusive features such as, ‘The Fallout’, ‘The Breakdown, and, ‘This Week In MMA’.